When 55-year-old Jenelle Young left Melbourne's outer east to move near the city of Albury on the NSW border, she admits she was "a little apprehensive".
She and her husband had originally bought a house about 40 minutes outside of Albury in the vineyard town of Rutherglen, Victoria initially as a holiday base and future retirement spot. But after a two-week camping trip by the Murray River, they were hooked.
"We stayed out there for two weeks and it was just beautiful," she told SBS News. "I find the Murray to be one of the most spectacular places I've ever been, especially when you get out there on a kayak."
In March this year, they packed up their lives in Melbourne and made the move permanent. Six months on, Jenelle can't imagine going back.
"When I first left Melbourne, I thought I was going to miss a lot of things about the city. But now I don't feel the desire to rush back to the city at all," she said. "It's much more of a relaxed lifestyle."
She spends her mornings kayaking before running her pickleball business in Albury and enjoys the strong sense of community she's discovered.
"All of a sudden, I've got this amazing amount of social connection that I didn't have in Melbourne," she said.
"I didn't realise I was missing that in the city."
But regional life comes with trade-offs. Local supermarkets close at 7pm, there’s no Uber Eats, and she’s now further away from her adult children in Melbourne.
"You have to be ready for the move," she said.
"There’s a difference between making the move because you really want to, and being pushed out. I knew what I was getting myself into."
Jenelle relocated from Melbourne to a quiet town outside Albury in March — and she hasn't looked back. Source: Supplied
The steady trickle to regional
Jenelle is part of a growing national trend, according to the latest Commonwealth Bank Regional Movers Index.
It found 26 per cent more people are relocating from capital cities to regional areas than vice versa. Overall, regional migration remains strong despite falling to its lowest level since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Albury saw the biggest growth in capital-regional migration — a 16-fold increase. Source: SBS News
Other large growth areas were Gingin, WA (273.7 per cent); Townsville, Queensland (268.6 per cent); East Pilbara, WA (184.4 per cent); and Greater Bendigo, Victoria (136.6 per cent).
But the largest regional hotspot was Queensland's Sunshine Coast, recording 7.4 per cent of the share of net capital-regional migration.
Greater Geelong, Victoria, slipped back to second place (7 per cent), while the Gold Coast, Queensland (5.9 per cent), Lake Macquarie, NSW (3.8 per cent) and Moorabool, Victoria (3.1 per cent), rounded out the top five most popular regional spots for capital city movers.
The largest regional hotspot was the Sunshine Coast, with Greater Geelong slipping back to second place. Source: SBS News
"However, regional Australia is no longer a second choice."
The index uses Commonwealth Bank data of 14.6 million customers to track internal migrations and help identify growth trends in regional centres.
Overall, regional migration remains strong despite falling to its lowest level since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Source: SBS News
What's driving the shift?
Affordability remains one of the biggest drawcards of moving regionally.
"Affordability is a real challenge right now. Even though mortgage rates are starting to come down, they’re still high compared to what we’ve seen in the past, which is making it harder for many people to buy in the cities," a Domain spokesperson told SBS News.
"That’s why regional areas are becoming more appealing, where around 14 per cent of houses and 31.3 per cent of units in regional Australia are actually cheaper to buy than rent, which is a huge drawcard for buyers."
They added that in the Albury region, prices have increased — but not as sharply as in other parts of the country.
"The median house price is now $612,000, up 9.3 per cent over the past year, showing strong demand, but it’s still relatively affordable."
The median cost of a house in combined capital cities is $1,207,857, compared to a combined regional cost of $670,953, according to Domain's June 2025 House Price Report.
On the ground in Albury, Ray White agent Andrew Papallo has seen the boom first-hand and says families relocating from Melbourne are leading the charge, followed by buyers from Canberra and Sydney.
"A lot of them can come here mortgage-free, which is a big thing for a lot of people," he told SBS News. "There’s less commuting, more time with family, and a slower pace. But 99 per cent of the time, it’s for cost."
That demand has driven local prices up by 9.3 per cent in the last year, with the median house price now sitting at $612,000.
"It's massive for the area," he said.
"Albury is handling the growth pretty well. There's a lot more land being released."
Can regional areas absorb the growth?
But rapid growth brings challenges. While Papallo says Albury-Wodonga has so far absorbed the influx, the pressure is showing in parts of the housing market.
Rental vacancy rates have sat below 1 per cent for years, Papallo says. Additionally, an increase in investor interest — which he says began booming last October — has left first-home buyers increasingly outcompeted by investors.
In Geelong, it's a similar story, as it deals with a housing shortage, ageing infrastructure and congestion due to expansion.
Research by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) found that increased migration to regional areas leads to a "knock-on effect" of higher prices in both rent and home purchases.
Professor Nicole Gurran from the University of Sydney, who led the research, said that the flow-on effects of this can mean low-income households are forced to move "significant distances" to find housing they can afford.
The report made several recommendations, including the investment in regional infrastructure to support people in non-metropolitan areas, support of low-income renters in regional areas, and better coordination between federal, state and local governments.
Dr Liz Allen, a demographer at the Australian National University, warns that regional growth is challenging for policymakers.
"That footprint is increasing at an alarming rate and in fact we're seeing the rates of increase and population growth occurring the fastest in regional areas ... which spells some really difficult times for policymakers."
- With additional reporting by Gabrielle Katanasho and the Australian Associated Press.
